The mention of a tomb instantly piqued the interest of the three men. "Damn it, earning money from the living is tough, but how hard can it be earning from the dead?" Fan Debiao shivered violently. "When I finally strike it rich, I won't be hiding out in some godforsaken backwater anymore. I'm heading out into the wider world to spend my fortune. Haven't eaten real meat in ages."

Su Yougui and Hu Beikang were equally excited. "Exactly! If we can snag some ancient relics from the dead, sell them for a few thousand yuan—that's enough to set us up for life, isn't it?"

In those days, villagers were thrilled to have one or two mao (dime) when going to the market. One hundred yuan then was equivalent to ten thousand yuan now, and tens of thousands were worth millions today—which was why Su Yougui only mentioned a few thousand.

Hu Beikang was practically vibrating with eagerness, wishing he could charge right in and scoop up every antique from the tomb.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves. To build a tomb in a high mountain like this shows incredible construction difficulty. Anyone who can afford that kind of effort must be from a prominent, powerful family. These places are always riddled with traps. If we let our guard down for a second, we could be struck down. You all better listen to me carefully and not act recklessly here. We'll decide the next move when the time is right. Remember this: if you see anything strange, you notify me immediately."

The men had already been blinded by the prospect of valuable antiques and paid little mind to what Young Master Liu was saying. They simply nodded.

Crack, crack.

The same sound of snapping wood echoed again. This time, Young Master Liu heard it clearly and looked down sharply, only to see a severed head gnawing on a piece of wood near him. The "wood" was clearly a bone.

Young Master Liu jumped in alarm. Why was there a human head here? And why was it chewing on wood?

Su Yougui held his torch closer, illuminating the head. He immediately recoiled, his whole body shaking.

"What... what in the hell is this?" Fan Debiao stammered out in terror.

Young Master Liu rapidly backed away, tossing his torch toward the head, intending to burn it. But as the torch flew, the head's two empty eye sockets instantly shot out a deadly glare, locking directly onto Young Master Liu.

With a ripping scream, the head actually lifted into the air and flew towards him. Young Master Liu swiftly drew the peach-wood sword from his back and swung it down. The head glowed with a pale green light, then dissolved into a puff of skeletal fragments that clattered to the ground.

Fan Debiao stared at the remnants on the floor, still deeply unsettled. "Master Liu, what was that skull? Why could it bite?"

Young Master Liu answered with careful gravity. "It seems this skull has developed a spirit. It has been constantly absorbing the yin energy in this tomb, allowing its flesh and blood to regrow. Given more time, it probably would have consumed everything here and turned into a full-fledged monster. Luckily, we found it early."

Crack, crack, crack, crack.

This strange sound continued incessantly, and as it rose, the entire cavern began to rumble, sounding like countless monks chanting sutras.

"Damn it, Boss, what is going on? Why are there such weird noises?" Hu Beikang nervously scanned their surroundings. "Blast it all, this is really..."

"Calm down. Su Yougui, hand me your torch."

Young Master Liu spoke with forced composure. Truthfully, he was scared too, but if their leader showed fear, the others would lose all hope of survival. He resolved to maintain his calm demeanor as much as possible.

Su Yougui passed him the torch. Young Master Liu listened to the source of the sound and tossed the flaming brand toward it.

As soon as it landed, that spot instantly ignited. Whatever lay beneath the surface erupted in fierce flames. Looking ahead into the cavern, Young Master Liu saw with astonishment that it was filled, densely packed, with heads, all ravenously devouring the earth, stone, and anything else before them. Looking closer at the skeletons, some had already grown heads, some had eyes, and a few were only missing their ears.

Seeing this sight, Fan Debiao and Su Yougui collapsed onto the ground, completely paralyzed. Damn it, this scene was too terrifying; they had no idea what to do.

Young Master Liu felt a tremor in his own heart. This place is truly bizarre. I wonder if we can make it through safely.

Just as he was wondering, the heads suddenly noticed them. The foremost head leaped up, springing from the ground, and lunged toward him to bite. Luckily, Young Master Liu reacted swiftly, spun aside, and easily evaded it. But this thing wasn't as simple as it seemed. It spun in mid-air, its gaping, bloody maw aimed directly at Young Master Liu's forehead.

Young Master Liu wouldn't be bitten so easily. He knew these heads fed specifically on human vital essence to accelerate their growth. He immediately pulled a talisman from his robes and jammed it into the attacking head.

The head instantly exploded with a loud bang, splattering him with brain matter and blood.

The sound of the explosion alerted all the heads on the ground. They began to hop up angrily.

Young Master Liu knew he couldn't fight them all. He yelled out, "Fan Debiao, Su Yougui, snap out of it, the three of you! Get over here!"

When the three saw the heads flying, they knew they were next. Without hesitation, they scrambled to Young Master Liu’s side. By chance, the spot where Young Master Liu stood was a small hollow in the cave wall, just large enough to fit the four of them inside.

In a flash, as the three ducked in, Young Master Liu plastered talisman after talisman—more than a dozen—onto the cave opening before finally feeling a measure of relief.

Each talisman radiated a golden light, tightly sealing the entrance. Every head that tried to jump in was instantly vaporized upon crossing the golden barrier.

Red and white fluids stained the ground crimson.

The force of the heads hitting the barrier was immense; they didn't give up easily. They slammed against the light shield one after another, shattering with each impact. The talisman-covered opening began to tremble slightly, a slow, persistent vibration.

Seeing this, Young Master Liu knew the talismans wouldn't hold for long.

With a soft whoosh, one of the talismans spontaneously burst into flame. The golden shield at the entrance noticeably weakened. Anxious, Young Master Liu frantically patted the surrounding walls, hoping to feel for an exit or perhaps a hidden mechanism.

Su Yougui and the others, caught in the panic, were also blindly groping around.

Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss.

Suddenly, a hissing sound came from directly above their heads, like a snake flicking its tongue. But the sound was so loud, he knew this snake had to be immense to produce such noise.

The four looked up almost simultaneously, but the ceiling above them was bare rock.

Hiss, hiss, hiss. The sound continued unabated. The four of them were intensely curious where it could be coming from.

Suddenly, Young Master Liu noticed something red extending from a small corner. He looked closer and realized it was a small earthworm, its red body wriggling hard to emerge.

Before they knew it, the exposed part of the little worm was nearly two centimeters long.

"Wait a minute, Master Liu, look closely," Su Yougui suddenly pointed out, his curiosity spiking. "Why is the head of this earthworm split in two?"

Young Master Liu peered closer. It was true; the creature's "tongue" was forked. He was utterly mystified.

"What is happening? Why has this worm become like this?" Young Master Liu pondered deeply.

"A snake's tongue! Damn it, this must be a snake's tongue!" At that thought, the soil directly above their heads clanged down. Luckily, Young Master Liu had managed to shove the four of them aside, preventing the large falling mass from crushing them.

Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss. The sound of the snake flicking its tongue intensified. Young Master Liu was aghast. So, that supposed worm was actually a serpent's tongue!

Just then, Young Master Liu looked down and nearly fainted. The tongue had firmly gripped the three-foot-square patch of ground. It opened its bloody maw, which sank deep into the earth.